Cantargia AB and BioInvent International AB, today announced that BioInvent has been contracted as manufacturer of Cantargia's antibody CAN10 in preclinical development for the treatment of systemic sclerosis and myocarditis.

CAN10 is fully humanized monoclonal antibody targeting IL1RAP. CAN10 has been designed to block the signalling of the inflammatory cytokines IL-1, IL-33 and IL-36 resulting in unique properties for treatment of inflammatory diseases. Under the agreement, which may generate revenue for BioInvent of up to SEK 30 million, BioInvent will provide process development, scale-up, supply of material for toxicological studies and clinical grade material in 1000L scale for use in phase I and II clinical trials. The majority of the work will be completed in 2021 to start clinical trials as early as possible during 2022.

Cantargia, which specializes in the development of antibody-based therapeutics for various types of cancer and inflammatory diseases, is a new manufacturing customer for BioInvent.

"We are pleased to add Cantargia to our growing list of manufacturing customers, which is a clear testament to our expertise in state-of-the-art antibody manufacturing and the quality of our processes," said Martin Welschof, CEO of BioInvent.

"We are very excited to start working with BioInvent to advance our CAN10 program towards clinical trials as quickly as possible. Based on Bioinvent's deep antibody knowledge and recent investments in manufacturing capabilities, we are confident in efficient and timely manufacturing of CAN10," said Göran Forsberg CEO at Cantargia.